1. Technical Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to an image forming apparatus and a droplet discharge detector.
2. Background Art
As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copier, a plotter, and a multifunction apparatus combining several of the capabilities of the above devices, for example, an inkjet recording apparatus of a droplet discharging recording method employing a print head to discharge an ink droplet is known.
Among the inkjet recording apparatuses, there is provided an inkjet recording apparatus including a discharge detector to detect a state of discharging droplets from an inkjet head. In the event that a defective nozzle from which droplet is not discharged properly is detected, the defective nozzle is cleaned.
As a known droplet detector, a droplet is discharged from the recording head to a recording liquid receiving means having a potential difference from the potential of the head, and electrical change when the droplet is deposited on the recording liquid receiving means is measured, thereby detecting whether or not there exists a droplet discharge.
In addition, it is known that the recording liquid receiving means having a potential difference from the potential of the head is wiped by a wiping means in a same direction as a moving direction of a carriage.
However, in the method of detecting whether the discharge is present by detecting potential difference, because the droplet is affected by an electric field generated by the recording liquid receiving means having a potential difference from that of the head, the detection output when the droplet discharge impacts the recording liquid receiving means is weakened, and thus, detection errors increase.